Apparatus and method for shredding leather.



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G. B. SOVEREIGN.

APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR SHREDDING'LEATHER. APPLICATION nun we. :1. 190a.

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G. E. SOVEREIGN. APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR SHREDDING LEATHER.

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APPLICATION FILED AUG. 21, 1906.

ATTORNE INVENTOH 55:51:75 EEQYEEE:

W/ TNE SSE 8 G. B. SOVEREIGN.

APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR SHREDDING LEATHER. APPLICATION FILED AUG. 21, 1906.

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WITNESSES uwav'rofi Sam-3 E-EEEWEBEIEN,

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PATENTED FEB. 26, 1907.

No. s45,v21. PATENTBD FEB. 25, 1907.

E. SOVEREIGN. 4 APPARATUS AND- METHOD FOR SHREDDING LEATHER.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 21. 190(1- e SHEETS-SHEET 4.

WITNESSES lNVENTOfl By 5M ra. rewz mmlum ATTORNEY.

N0= 845,721. PATENTED FEB. 26, 1907. G. E. SOVEREIGN. APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR SHREDDING LEATHER.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 21. 1906.

. s SHEETS-SHEET 5. mm L I I I I I l I 1 l G. E. SOVEREIGN. APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR SHRBDDING LEATHER.

APPLIUATION FILED AUG. 21. 1906.

PATENTED FEB. 26, 1907.

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. UNITED STATES ATEN enr chy GEORGE E. SOVEREIGN, F fOT-TERSVILLE, NEW JERSEY.

APPARATUS AND METHOD FORSHREDDINGLEATHERI- a Specification of Letters Patent Application filed August 21, 1906. Serial No. 331,446.

Patented Feb. 26,1907;

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that L, GEORGE E. SOVEREIGN, a citizen 'of the United States, residing at Pottersville, in the county of Hunterdon and State of New. Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus and Methods for Shredding Leather, of which the following is a specification.

The objects of this invention are to provide means for reducingv or shredding scrap and waste leather, so that the same may be utilized for leather-board and the like by mixing with other proper ingredients and pressing; to reduce or shred the leather so 1 5 that it will be of a long fibrous character and ,not pulverized; to this end to. provide shredding-plates which will act upon .the leather adually as it passes'between the same; to

prevent the clogging of said plates and in 20.81116 onward movement of the leather; to

provide for a proper separation of the prodnets of shredding as they come from the said plates, whereby 'onlythe useful fibrous material is preserved apart from the grand- 2 5 lar particles; to avoid the danger of setting fire to the reduced product in the mill; to do this bymixing theshredded fiber directlyas it comes from the reducing-plates with water as one of the steps toward forming c leather-board of it; to thus facilitate and simplify the process of makin leather-- board; to secure an improved pro not at less labor and expense, and to obtain other advantages and results as may be brought out 3 5 in the following description. 1 Referrin to the accompanying drawings,

in which li e numeralsof reference indicate corresponding parts in eachof the several I figures, Figure 1 is a side elevation of an' ap- 0 paratus of my improved construction for shredding leather, the reducing-plates being shown in central cross-section and the lower separating portion of the mill being in perspective'and partly broken away to show its construction more clearly. Fig. 2 shows in plan the cooperating faces 'of the two shredding plates or disks onalarger scale. Fig.

3 is an edge view of the segmental portion of said plates: included between the'chordal lines as and y, Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is aview similar i to Fig. 3','illustrating a modifiedconstniction. Eig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 1, illustrating a modified method of separatingthe" products of the mill after they have been re- 5 5 duced, or shredded. Fig. 6; shows in per-' 'spective a water bath or tank into which the Referring nowiin products of the shredding-plates are discharged. Fig, 7 illustrates a method 'offl sprinkling the products of the reducing or" shredding plates as they emergetherefrom, 6o

and Fig. 8 shows modified means for mixing the product of the mill with water as a protection against fire and a step toward mixing the same for the manufacture of leatherboard or the like. I for drying the product of my shreddingplatesin the mill and Fig. 10 showsother' j means'for accomplishing this same result. ln said drawings, 1 indicates the'hase or frameof a shredding mill ormachineadapt-l 's ed to be located as upon a floor 2, said frame v providing 1 bearingsfi 3 for shafts 4-4, a'rranged in alinement their ends adjacent and adapted tobe driven in opposite direc- 1 tions,' as by means of pulleys 5 .Saidf frame provides an upwaIdly-extendmg cas ing 6, which is adapted to inclose circular heads 78, arranged upon the adjacent shaft ends in substantially parallel relation; Upon the inner facingfsides ofsaid heads 7 8 are 10- 8o cated annular shredding plates ordisks 9 10, hereinafter more particularly described, and below the said heads 7 8 a discharge'passage H U or aperture 11 isprovided, through the floor 2 At ithe upper part'jofthe. casing'fi is are ranged a hopper .12,*throu gh which the leather scrap orchips is fed'to the" mill, the

lower part of saidhopper opening, as by ajf passage 13 ,1against theqcentralp'ortionof one jv of the reducing-heads, said reducing-head o having in from its shreddin -pl'atean "aper-f ture 14 to receive'from sai hopper a sup-1 ply of the fibrous material to be ground.v From its entranc between the reducing-' heads 7 '8, as just'described, the stockisj '5 thrown radially outward by 'centrifugalgforce to theshredding plates or disks. These disks provide in cross-section, as shown, areduo-j ing-passage' for the leather, which tapers or is reduced outwardly, as shown, wherebythe Ibo stock or small pieces of leather enter be-. tween the shredding-disks readily, "and yet as they are'redu'ced in'size bythe tearing of shreds or "fibers'fr'om their exterior they do not, because ofthe reduced. passage-wayy e pas\ through ithel'shredding-plates "Without being sufiicientlyi iacted upon. Obviously-' the discharge of material'from theshreddingf .plates pher ies i M Q eparticularly to Figs; an

and 3 of the'dra gs. it -will be observed that eachofthejshredding-plates and 10;

Fig. 9 illustratesmeans I has a body portion and that the inner edge of the plate.

faces of said body portions are inclined along radial lines ofthe plates toward each other. The said inclined surface of each shreddingdisk is then provided with radial ribs, which are sharp at their side edges to provide cutting or reducing surfaces, and, as will be seen from the drawings, there are several different lengths of said ribs, or, in other words, they do not all terminate at the same distance from the inner edge of the annularplate, although they do all terminate at the outer These ribs are of uniform height, so as to provide for the reducing-passage the same incline as do the disk-faces of the shredding-plates themselves. The shredding-plates 9 10 are, furthermore, provided with annular ribs or flanges 25, which cut across the radial ribs just described, the plate 10 having two such annular ribs, one of which, as 16, is at the extreme edgeof-the plate, while the other, 17, is at a little distance inward therefrom, and the other plate, 9,

--having three annular ribs, one of which, as

18, isat the extreme edge of the disk, an

other, 19, sulliciently near thereto to lie be-- tween the ribs 16 and 17 of the plate10 when the two plates cooperate, and the third, 20, is near enough the center of the disk to alternate with said rib 17 of the plate 10 on the other side thereof from the rib 19 when the two plates are placed together. Asthe particles of leather travel radially of the plates, therefore, they are forced to take a tortuous passage between the said annular ribs 16 to 20, and thus be'constantly exposing themselves to,the cutting action of the radial ribs, as will be understood. The entrance to the passages between the shredding-plates is too small to allow thepieces or chips of leather to hide between the ribs and escape shredding, and the space between the oppositely-coinciding outer annular ribs 17 and '20 gages the size of the fibers with respect to coarseness or fineness. This tapered relation of the shredding-plates 9 and 10 is of especial importancebecause of the nature of the substance or leather to be acted upon; If the passage;

were uniform and the entrance large enough to admit the chips and scraps of leather, the

fibers of the reduced product would not be sufficiently fine to serve the purpose of my lnvention, and, on the other hand, if the outer edges of the plates were near enough together to secure fineness the inner edges would not admit the leather to be shredded.

Instead of forming the body portions of the shredding-plates with inclined surfaces upon which ribs of uniform height are located I may, as shown in Fig. 4, employ plates 21 '22, whose faces are parallel at their body portions and are provided with radial ribs 23,

. which increase in height outwardly'or toward the periphery of the plates.

Obviously this construction also provides a tapered passageway for the leatherbeing reduced and also in I a marked degree increases the space available to be occupied by the leather as it passes through the shredding-plates, such increase being due not only to the widening of the spaces between the ribs, but also to the increased depth of the ribs outwardly. Clogging or jamming of the machine or mill is thus not likely to 'bccur.

The reduced product leaves the shreddingplates at their lower peripheral points and escapes by the passage-way 11 through an opening 30 in the floor 2, where in Fig. 1 l have shown it received by a passage 31, leading downward to a screen or sieve 32, said sieve being adapted to be reciprocated by means of a cam 33 on a shaft 34, driven by a pulley 35 and adapted to engage the said sieve. Said sieve is suspended by links 36 to enable it to move freely, and obviously only the coarser fibrous pieces will be retained by said screen, the fine dust-like or granular particles passing through the screen to fall beneath the same, where they can be carted away as refuse or for other purposes than making leather-board.

It will be observed that the material passes very directly from the shredding-chamber to the separating-screen 32, the passage 31 being as straight and direetas possible and preferably being practically vertical. Down this passage 31 the material is carried not.

only by gravity, but also by theair-current in said passage, for it will be understood that the rapidly-revolving reducing-heads 7 and 8 act in a measure as a centrifugalblower, in ducing a strong blast of air which sweeps the shredding-chamber clear of the ground mate rial and carries it down the passage 31 upon the screen 32; Owing to the natural tendency of the ground material to pack or settle compactly together, it is highly important that the' separation of the coarser particles from the dust and fine particles shall be accomplished before the-settling or packing has taken place, for once the material has become compacted it is practically impossible to screen or sift itthoroughly. It will be understood that this-settling or packing is of necessity asomewhat gradual process, the finer particles 'radually sifting or dropping down between the coarser particles. Also in the case of particles carried by a current of air, as is the case here, each particle has adhering to it an envelop of air which persists for a moment after the mass of accumulated material at the bottom of the passage is reached, the

ment by the air, then separating 'from the solid material, and the mass being in a muchmore open condition than it will be if allowed to stand for a moment. These conditions all favor separation of the coarse material from the fine material, provided the separation be efiected at once; but to utilize these favorable too ,several particles being buoyed up for a 'mois the case in theappara'tus shown, and must not be connected indirectly or in such mannfir' that "considerable time? will elapse before t e Instead of the reciprocating screen just described I may employ, as shown in Fig. an

exhaust or fan 37, whichse arates the desirable fibrouspart of the pro, not from the fine powdered portion and conveysit to any desired point for further operations,v some of which may be hereinafter referred to. To

this end I have shown a vertical passa e 38,

' leading downward-from the floor 2 an provided at one side with a lateral branch 39 in communicationwith the said fan 37. Byv regulation of the fan, therefore, the fibrous portion ofthe reduced product is separated ust after leaving the shreddinglates and before it has settled anywhere 'or een allowed to conglomerate in any degree. The blower 37 further conducts the fibrous roduct through the tube 39 to' any desire point. Gates 40 and 41-in-the passage 38 control the air-currents so as to-regulatethe separation of the products'of shredding, and the wasteor residue falls upon the floor at the bottom of the vertical portion 38.

In Fig. 6 Ihave shown atube' or passageway 26, leading from the reducing-mill'and through which the roducts of shredding are delivered beneath t e surface of the water in a tank or water-bath 27. This obviates any danger of the light and somewhat inflammable material becoming ignited by any kind of inadvertent friction in the mill or machineas, for instance, the presence of a match-head or thelike. The product is. discharged directly into water and can then be separated or assorted in any suitable manner, as by passing the liquid compound through screens,

' taking advantage of the settling of the parti-- cles or in any-other suitable way. i If sepa rating is dispensed with or'if the introduc= tion of thefibrous product into water is subsequent to its separation, as already described, obviously this mixing with water can be utilized as one of the first steps in the recess of making 'up the reduced ber into eather-board. I this latter was done, other liquids than water could be employed, as de-" sired. r p In Fig. 7 I have shown a construction where the reduced product on emerging from a delivery-tube 42 is subjected to streams 43 from'a sprinkler'44, which acts on the principle of a shower-bath and thoroughlymoistens the entire pile 45 of fibrous eather.- Said s rinkler 44 is preferably mounted upon the tu e 42 by braces 46, and water is supplied thereto by a supply-pipe 47.

In Fig. 8I have shown. the discharge-tube ground material reaches the separating H I v thus moistened as 1t comesfrom the mill and,

my improved equivalent means.

through will be dried, as will 50 for the reduce'd leather as terminating at or near the surface of tlie water in a tank ,51. Pipes 52 leadinto thesaid dischargetube 50 back from its mouth and serve 'to I thoroughly sprinkle the interior of the same, as shown at53. The shredded leather is furthermore; is discharged into the tank 51.

Supply-pipes 54 open into the tank 51, said tank being also provided with opposite one lets 55 so that a distinct current is produced to carry the fibrous leather away from the tube 50 into all arts of the tank.

It will be un erstood that one important feature. of my invention is the acting upon the reduced prod uct'immediately as itissues from the shredding-plates beforeit has had a I chance to settle anywhereandbecomematted or compacted intoa mass. This acting.

upon the-shredded product maybe to sepa rate the same or to;-sprinkle the same or1to otherwise prepare it for further o erations in 7 the manufacture of leather-boar various modifications may be made incarrying out Inlcasethe separation of fthe products of this idea either as to the construction of appa ratus em loyed or to the details of the shown in Figs. 1 and 5, I may in conjunction safely 'pack'ed or handled on quantity, and

trated in Figs. 9 and 10.

"with the same subject such products to a' drying process in order to enable theni to be this feature of myinvention I have -i'llus In Fig. 9, 56 indicates the s'creen from 'which the shredded material-is discharged, and5-7 is a conveyer-belt adapted to receive the material from said screen, said beltbeing heated by means of steamipes58' or other Prefera ly the saididrierbelt is incldsed in the chamber of a casing59,

and which chamber can be further heated by "'I he shredded products pipes 60 therein.

IIO

arethus dried upon the belt 57' in their separated condition as they come from the screen 56 and may be delivered from the opposite endof the conveyer-belt in any suitable man;

ner desired.

In Fig 10, 61 indicates an exhaust-separa- 1 tor of the type shown inl igt5' and through the delivery-tube 62 of which the separated "shreds are to be delivered. I have shown a tu e 62. In continuation of this feature of a e ually w'ell. vStraps 64 serve to support the drying the shredded leather it should be noted that the exhaust-fan or blower could be operated wholly in heated air, so as to both convey and dry the productsimultaneously.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim isf i 1. In a shreddin Inill, the combination of rotary shredding-p ates the faces of which are opposed relatively, said plates having in such faces radial ribs and annular ribs intersecting a pluralityof said'radial ribs, the radial libs of the two plates forming a space narrowing progressively toward the periphcries of the plates, the annular ribs of. the two plates relatively stag ered; v

;2. A shredding-dis rovided on its face with a plurality of radial ribs of height increas' rogressively toward the periphery of the h, and with ribs crossing said radial ribs transversely.

3. In a shredding-mill, the combination of rotary shredding-plates having faces opposed relatively and approaching each other toward the peripheries of said plates, said plates having in such surfaces-or .faces radial ri'bs and annular circular ribs concentric with the axis of rotation of said piates, the annular ribs of the two plates relatively sta gered;

5. In a leather-shredding mac e, the combination of o posit'e annular shreddingplates having bod portions which provide at their facing sides parallel surfaces, radial ribs upon said parallel faces each increasing in height from the center of the plate-outwardly, whereby outwardly conver ng reducin surfaces are provided by t e two shred r g-plates, and at the same time the radial'ribs provide pockets, between the ribs, annular ribs or fiangesintersectin said radial ribs, and means for 'driving' t e shredding-pl ates in opposite directions.

6. In aleather-shredding machine, the combination of a closed shredding-chamber, rotary shredding means therein comprising means producing an air-draft therethrough, a passage conveying the product from said 1 chamber,

ranged transversely withre'spect'to said pas and product-assorting means ardownward from sai said'screen. a

1 1. The herein-described method ofshred ding and asserting the sage and in line therewith and receiving the discharge therefrom. v 7. In a leather-shredding" machine, the combination of a closed shredding-chamber,

rotaryshredding means therein comprising rotary disks having means for produc" "an air-draft therethrou h, a passage exten ing chamber, and productassorting meansarranged transversely with respect to said assage and in line therewith and receiving t e dischar e therefrom.

8., In a leather-shred 'ng. machine, the combination of a shredding-chamber, opposed rotary shredding-plate's' therein toothed on their adjacent faces, a separating-screen, means for operating the same, and a passa e leading directly from said chamber to said screen.

posed rotary shred'd' plates therein toothed on their adjacent aces, a separatingscreen, means for vibrating the same, and a passage lead' directly and immediately from said cham er to-said screen.

10. In leather-shreddingmmachine, the combination of a shreddi -c mber, rotary olpposed shredding-plates t ere n toothed on t eir adjacent surfaces, :1, separat -screen beneath said chamber, means for v1 rating said screen, anda substantially sage'leading directly from said chamber to ding and assorting the product which con sists in subjecting the desiredmaterial to a shredding action, conducti ;the material shredded away and before psi (firing or settling of the material can occur subjecting it to aseparating and assert action. 12. The herein-descri ed method of shredsists in subjecting a material to be treated to a shredding action, conveying the shredded product away in aerial suspension and while still in such suspension sub ecting it to an assorting and separating action.

13. The herein-described method of shredand assor ting the product which consists in subjecting material to be treated to a shredding action and immediately thereafter screening it. GEORGE In presence ofr RUSSELL M. EVERETT,

ETHEL B. Rrmn SOVEREIGN;

I 9. In a leather-shredding .machine, the I combination of a shredding-chamber, op

vertical pasproduct which'conand before 1 packing or settling can occur 1 10 

